Newest Questions
132,521 questions
2
votes
1
answer
117
views
Mustn't: 'impossibility' rather than 'negative obligation'
When expressing alethic modality, must is negated in standard
English as can't/couldn't (as it is for epistemic modality).
However, in some dialect forms, mustn't is used to express
impossibility ...
- 3,508
1
vote
1
answer
51
views
Bring and bringing etc [duplicate]
I was delighted to come across this site.... I have a particular pet hate which causes me to tense my jaw and swallow hard each time I hear it (which is frequently) – I would like to know if it’s just ...
- 11
3
votes
5
answers
2k
views
A single word for dishonestly underselling one's own importance/credentials?
Does a word exist for when someone understates their importance, credentials, or their ability for the purposes of defrauding someone or averting their attention?
The word "fraudulent" or &...
- 81
1
vote
1
answer
46
views
"object engages person" vs. "person engages object"?
Standard dictionary definitions for 'engage', such as those on Wordreference or Collins, often focus on the object engaging the person's attention or interest:
to occupy the attention or efforts of (...
- 375
-1
votes
0
answers
17
views
If he's Italian next year/If he acquires Italian nationality next year/If he acquires Italian citizenship next year [migrated]
Please consider these sentences:
1. If he’s Italian next year by acquiring Italian nationality, he’ll be European.
2. If he’s Italian next year by acquiring Italian citizenship, he’ll be European.
3. ...
- 157
0
votes
0
answers
34
views
I said I’d help, and so I will/have [migrated]
What part of speech is the word so here?
I said I’d help, and so I will.
I said I’d help, and so I have.
Is so a “pronoun” in these two sentences?
What exactly is elided at the end of both versions ...
- 3,508
0
votes
1
answer
22
views
Do you use of "no sooner ... than" and "no sooner ...when" for expressing events that happen at nearly the same time?
I had written the sentence
I no sooner had the door unlocked than Jamie pushed past me and ran up the stairs.
When I read it later, it seemed that I could, or perhaps should, have used "when&...
- 101
0
votes
0
answers
68
views
What does it mean when someone tells you to ‘get on’?
I was in a busy area of London and a lady said ‘get on’ as she was walking past me in the opposite direction with a fairly big distance between the two of us. It felt like she somehow directed the ...
- 137
-2
votes
2
answers
69
views
Inconvertibility of '-s' genitive into 'of'-structures
Fowler says:
Some -’s forms with human or animal nouns cannot be converted into of-forms, usually because the relationship is not simply possessive:
the man ’s reward
the boys ’ explanation
Sophie ’...
- 3,508
0
votes
1
answer
43
views
Substitution of "where" for "in which" [closed]
I'm curious about when this incorrect substitution of the word "where" for the words "in which" began. I hear it all the time in speech and I see it in writing in all media, ...
user718962
1
vote
0
answers
68
views
As (the) following examples show
Relative clauses can focus on the referent of the preceding noun in
different ways, as following examples show:
The resort where the family spent their holidays.
The waiter who served us.
The year ...
- 3,508
-1
votes
0
answers
28
views
Which collocation to use in combined phrase?
There are some words that are used with specific prepositions, e.g., the "Oxford Collocations Dictionary" gives the following for "spare" (verb, 1. Prep.):
Can you spare some ...
- 109
1
vote
2
answers
91
views
'Suppose': suggestions ending with a question mark (?)
Suppose I gave Alice a call ?
Suppose we change the subject ?
What Part of Speech is suppose here? Notice the subjunctive gave in the first sentence.
Why do these suggestions end in a question mark?
...
- 3,508
0
votes
0
answers
23
views
How to avoid ambiguity in a "comma-which" construct [duplicate]
I was writing about a band who had appeared in a comedy movie (think Beatles in Hard Day's Night).
It appears they have made a motion picture, which is rather witty.
I meant, of course, that the ...
- 990
0
votes
0
answers
23
views
What is the correct possessive for "folks"? [migrated]
Which of these is correct, grammatically?
I don't understand folks' issues with cats
or
I don't understand folks's issues with cats
or
I don't understand folk's issues with cats
- 1